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They'll be 'Locked up for Loot'

Chris Hill of the Lenoir County Sherif'f’s Office simulates locking Becky Hines, chairwoman of Locked Up For Loot, inside one of the cells in the new addition to the Lenoir County Jail in Kinston. The fundraiser is to benefit victim support and violence prevention.

Zach Frailey / The Free Press

By Jessika Morgan / Staff Writer

Published: Sunday, October 7, 2012 at 09:54 PM.

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The Lenoir County Jail is expanding, but the bad guys won’t be the first inside the cells. The good guys will.

Kinston residents are invited to spend a night in jail to raise money for victim support and violence prevention by assisting an array of local nonprofits. These big-hearted jailbirds will pay $100 to reserve a space in jail and then raise bail money in hopes that they can win early release.

“Locked Up For Loot” is a collaboration between The Rotary Club of Kinston, the project’s organizer, and seven nonprofits, all of which work in the realm of violence prevention, some by getting young people off to a smarter start, others by assisting victims of violence.

Participants can choose which organization they will be “locked up” for. They can register for the event by contacting the participating nonprofits.

With the exception of a small administrative fee that the Rotary club will use for food and other incidentals for the “prisoners,” all money raised will go to the participating nonprofits.

If jail construction is complete by Oct. 19, the booking will start around 5 p.m. that evening with a set $500 bond for those who want to be released before the event is over the next morning. Snacks and games will be issued to the inmates, which will ease their night in jail.

“It gives them a taste of what incarceration is like, but that’s not the purpose of it. The purpose of it is to raise money,” said Chief Deputy Chris Hill. “We hope these people have a good time, but they also get to learn what a jail’s like.”

The Lenoir County Jail is expanding, but the bad guys won’t be the first inside the cells. The good guys will.

Kinston residents are invited to spend a night in jail to raise money for victim support and violence prevention by assisting an array of local nonprofits. These big-hearted jailbirds will pay $100 to reserve a space in jail and then raise bail money in hopes that they can win early release.

“Locked Up For Loot” is a collaboration between The Rotary Club of Kinston, the project’s organizer, and seven nonprofits, all of which work in the realm of violence prevention, some by getting young people off to a smarter start, others by assisting victims of violence.

Participants can choose which organization they will be “locked up” for. They can register for the event by contacting the participating nonprofits.

With the exception of a small administrative fee that the Rotary club will use for food and other incidentals for the “prisoners,” all money raised will go to the participating nonprofits.

If jail construction is complete by Oct. 19, the booking will start around 5 p.m. that evening with a set $500 bond for those who want to be released before the event is over the next morning. Snacks and games will be issued to the inmates, which will ease their night in jail.

“It gives them a taste of what incarceration is like, but that’s not the purpose of it. The purpose of it is to raise money,” said Chief Deputy Chris Hill. “We hope these people have a good time, but they also get to learn what a jail’s like.”

He said the police department agreed to the event because it helps the community. While the town is going to have fun in the jail-like scenario, the staff will use the time as a training event. Twenty-one jobs were created with the jail expansion, itself necessitated by overcrowding and the cost of housing prisoners in jails outside the county.

“Over $25,000 dollars a week is going outside to somebody else’s jail because we don’t have the beds,” Hill said. The new jail has 188 beds.

“Of course we’d love it to be full because the more people that are here, the more people will talk about the organizations,” said “Locked Up For Loot” Chair Becky Hines, immediate past president of The Rotary Club of Kinston. “We picked organizations that help provide some violence prevention and victim education.”

The new jail is a good way to highlight the obvious connection between violence and jail, which is from where Hines said the idea originated.

“We though about what are the kinds of populations that it (the jail) serves, and obviously those of victims and violence are two things that really fit into the jail,” she said. “It’s awesome to be able to promote that so that people in the community can learn about the organizations that are helping to fight violence in Kinston.”

Hines hopes the special fundraiser creates $20,000 for the six non-profit organizations involved.

These local nonprofits are participating in a fundraiser that will put contributors behind bars as the first residents of the new county jail. To register for the event, contact the nonprofits directly.

Boys & Girls Club of LenoirCounty

252-686-0961

www.bgclenoir.com

Boys & Girls Club of Lenoir County provides positive opportunities for physical, mental and emotional development for boys and girls ages 6 to 18 through a variety of proven programs and activities, both after school and in the summer. The club’s mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who most in need, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens and to show youngsters that someone cares and wants them to succeed.

LenoirCommunity CollegeFoundation

252-233-6812

www.lenoircc.edu/Foundation/index.htm

The Lenoir Community College Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing financial assistance for students seeking high quality, affordable, and accessible learning opportunities. With more than 400 scholarship applications submitted each year, the LCC Foundation is only able to award 171 scholarships to deserving students. It is the goal of the Foundation to bridge this gap through community support, fundraising opportunities and other contributions.

Little by Little

252-523-5107

Little by Little was started by individuals who believe that systematic change is best done through one-on-one relationships. Applying that belief to the children in our community, Little by Little matches up an adult with a buddy in the third grade at Southeast Elementary, assisting in improving his or her reading skills, earning funds for future college attendance and dealing with everyday difficulties.

P.E.A.C.E. Foundation

252-268-3483

www.facebook.com/peacefoundationnc

The mission of the P.E.A.C.E. Foundation is to educate the public about the dangers of prescription drugs and empower them with the knowledge to recognize and stop abuse before it starts.

The Gate

252-939-3223

www.thegateofkinston.com

The Gate of Lenoir County’s mission is to “offer hope and a future to the youth of LenoirCountythrough Christian values and principles.” The nonprofit offers services to at-risk youth and their families with our primary focus of gang prevention.

SAFEin LenoirCounty

252-523-5573

SAFEin Lenoir County Inc. provides victims of domestic and sexual abuse in Lenoir and Greene counties 24/7/365 crisis line and shelter services. SAFEassists victims with court advocacy, with related paperwork and victim’s compensation filing, as well as offering empowerment programs, community awareness, professional training and referral information.

Salvation Army

252-523-5175

www.salvationarmycarolinas.org/commands/kinston

The Salvation Army helps with the spiritual, physical, emotional and physiological well-being of those served. Its community center offers activities and programs for the young (summer day camp, after-school program, basketball, football and more) and the old (men, women, seniors). A Family Store provides free items for those who qualify and items at a reduced cost for the public.